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Who or What is "Trucking": Firms in the truck transportation and warehousing industry provide a link between manufacturers and consumers. Businesses, and occasionally individuals, contract with trucking and warehousing companies to pick up, transport, store, and deliver a variety of goods. The industry includes general freight trucking, specialized freight trucking, and warehousing and storage.
General freight trucking uses motor vehicles, such as trucks and tractor-trailers, to provide over-the-road transportation of general commodities. This industry segment is further subdivided based on distance traveled. Local trucking establishments carry goods primarily within a single metropolitan area and its adjacent non-urban areas. Long-distance trucking establishments carry goods between distant areas.

Local trucking comprises up to one-third of the trucking industry in most cities and towns of the Unites States. The work of local trucking firms varies with the products transported. Produce truckers usually pick up loaded trucks early in the morning and spend the rest of the day delivering produce to many different grocery stores. Lumber truck drivers, on the other hand, make several trips from the lumberyard to one or more construction sites. Some local truck transportation firms also take on sales and customer relations responsibilities, in addition to delivering the firm’s products. Some local trucking firms specialize in garbage collection and trash removal or hauling dirt and debris.

Long-distance trucking comprises establishments engaged primarily in providing trucking between distant areas and sometimes between the United States and Canada or Mexico. Numbering over 41,000 establishments, these firms handle every kind of commodity.

Specialized freight trucking provides over-the-road transportation of freight, which, because of size, weight, shape, or other inherent characteristics, requires specialized equipment, such as flatbeds, tankers, or refrigerated trailers. This industry sector also includes the moving industry—that is, the transportation of used household, institutional, and commercial furniture. Like general freight trucking, specialized freight trucking is subdivided into local and long-distance components. The specialized freight trucking sector contained 48,000 establishments in 2006.

Some goods are carried cross country using intermodal transportation to save time and money. Intermodal transportation encompasses any combination of transportation by truck, train, plane, or ship. Typically, trucks perform at least one leg of the trip. For example, a shipment of cars from an assembly plant begins its journey when they are loaded onto rail cars. Next, trains haul the cars across country to a depot, where the shipments are broken into smaller lots and loaded onto tractor-trailers, which drive them to dealerships. Each of these steps is carefully orchestrated and timed so that the cars arrive just in time to be shipped on their next leg of their journey. Goods can be transported at lower cost this way, but they cannot be highly perishable—like fresh produce—or have strict delivery schedules. Trucking dominates the transportation of perishable and time-sensitive goods.

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Conditions & Hours. Of previous years, workers in the truck transportation industry averaged 40.9 hours a week, compared with an average of 37.9 hours in warehousing and storage and 33.9 in all private industries. The U.S. Department of Transportation governs work hours and many other working conditions of truck drivers engaged in interstate commerce. Long-distance drivers are not permitted to drive after having worked for 60 hours in the past 7 days or 70 hours in the past 8 days, unless they have taken at least 34 consecutive hours off duty. Drivers are required to document their time in logbooks. Many drivers, particularly on long runs, work close to the maximum time permitted because employers usually compensate them on the basis of the number of miles or hours they drive. Drivers frequently travel at night, on holidays, and on weekends to avoid traffic delays so that they can deliver their cargo on time.

Work environment. Truck drivers must cope with a variety of working conditions, including variable weather and traffic conditions, boredom, and fatigue. Many truck drivers enjoy the independence and working without direct supervision found in long-distance driving. Local truck drivers often have regular routes or assignments that allow them to return home in the evening.

Improvements in roads and trucks reduce stress and increase the efficiency of long-distance drivers. Many advanced trucks are equipped with refrigerators, televisions, and beds for their drivers’ convenience. Included in some of these state-of-the-art vehicles are satellite links with their company’s headquarters, so that drivers can get directions, weather and traffic reports, and other important communications in a matter of seconds. In the event of bad weather or mechanical problems, truckers can communicate with dispatchers to discuss delivery schedules and courses of action. Satellite links allow dispatchers to track the location of the truck and monitor fuel consumption and engine performance.

Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers usually work indoors, although they occasionally make repairs on the road. Minor cuts, burns, and bruises are common, but serious accidents typically can be avoided if the shop is kept clean and orderly and if safety practices are observed. Service technicians and mechanics handle greasy and dirty parts and may stand or lie in awkward positions to repair vehicles and equipment. They usually work in well-lighted, heated, and ventilated areas, but some shops are drafty and noisy.

Laborers, and hand freight, stock, and material movers usually work indoors, although they may do occasional work on trucks and fork lifts outside. These occupations often require a great deal of physical labor, including heavy lifting.
Safety is a major concern for the truck transportation and warehousing industry. The operation of trucks, fork lifts, and other technically advanced equipment can be dangerous without proper training and supervision. Truck drivers must adhere to federally mandated certifications and regulations requiring them to submit to drug and alcohol tests as a condition of employment. Employers are required to perform random on-the-job checks for drugs and alcohol.

Work-related injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers averaged 5.8 in the truck transportation industry and 8.0 in warehousing and storage, compared with a rate of 4.4 for the entire private sector. More than 8 out of 10 on-the-job fatalities in the truck transportation industry resulted from transportation related incidents.

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